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By admin 2018-10-01

The arrival of cotton in the region’s markets is gradually picking up the pace as Punjab, Haryana and Sri Ganganagar circle of Rajasthan are registering the arrival of 12,000 bales of cotton on a daily basis. North India Cotton Association ex-president Ashok Kapur said, “Haryana has taken the lead with the arrival of almost 7,000 bales of cotton daily followed by Punjab with 3,000 bales and the Sri Ganganagar circle with 2,000 bales. These arrivals will keep on increasing with each passing day. The weather too is clear now and there is no hindrance to crop harvesting. Most of these arrivals in Punjab are being recorded in places such as Abohar and Rama Mandi.” He said the government agencies may step in for cotton purchase once the arrivals pick up. According to him, if the agencies need to make commercial purchase they can enter the market any time, but they will be largely out of the picture, if they restrict their role to maintaining the minimum support price (MSP). He said the cotton right now is fetching a price of anywhere between Rs 4,900 to Rs 5,300 per quintal. He said the flow of arrival would continue at the same pace, if the rates remain above Rs 5,000 per quintal. But it may decline, if the price drops below the Rs 5,000 mark. He also felt that the big farmers may hold back their stock, if they don’t get the desired price. Incidentally, the market in Bathinda is yet to witness any cotton arrival. The cotton farmers are hoping for a bumper crop this year, though the recent rain spell in the region has come as a dampener. However, they heaved a sigh of relief, as the rains didn’t last long. PAU’s senior farm economist Dr GS Romana said they had not received any report of major damage to cotton crop due to rains. “It has largely remained unaffected as it did not rain much in the Malwa region,” he added. Interestingly, the area under cotton cultivation has declined by almost one lakh hectares in the state